What to give vegan at foodbank?

We may all have our opinions about how reasonable it is to be vegan, especially if asking for help at a food bank.
However, the workers at a food bank must be respectful and do their best to accommodate people who have ethical or religious objections to eating certain foods.
Depending on the policy of the foodbank, they may have to say 'This is what we have, you must make your choice from these items'. I think it reasonable to ask why they don't eat rice, as their reply may help (do they know how to cook it? )
The Vegetarian Society have information on vegan foods. I know that most baked beans are vegan - always a good bet. Any pulses will be nutritious. Oats can be made up with water.
Do you have contact with a dietician? Most foodbanks do, and they can help you draw up a vegan list.

I'm digressing slightly but when i was a kid growing up in the seventies in one of those broken homes,we often relied on charity. At Christmas the parish priest brought us a food parcel. It contained some of that stuff that all the school children are asked to bring in to "feed the poor". We were very grateful for it and it didnt cross our minds to see whether we liked it all or not. In hose days ,and certainly where i lived, there were no special dietry requirements. The imperative was to have something to eat and some form of fuel to burn on the fire to save us all from freezing in winter.

If they are in need of a foodbank then rice is something they will need to accept and learn to tolerate.
When I had to use one briefly a couple of years ago did I like everything? No, but it was food and was so grateful.

Vegetable soups should be fine, I'd say baked beans & tinned pasta but not if they're allergic to tomatoes.

Dry pasta, with some sauces.. again these are usually tomato based but perhaps a green pesto etc.

Depending on who referred them to you, they could be eligible for some supermarket vouchers so they can pick up fresh fruit & veg.. but tinned versions of these will be fine (I assume you get a lot of these?)

Learning to cook from scratch is another thing that they just have to deal with if they're in a position of needing a foodbank, so perhaps some friendly tips?

I'd say if you have any doubts just ask but as long as it doesn't list meat or dairy you'll usually be ok. Might be worth seeing if they'd be willing to eat fish as I know tinned sardines are a regularly donated item.

The OP probably isn't interested in people's opinions about veganism, it was just a simple question.

In answer to which, yes nearly all mainstream bread is vegan, but just to be on the safe side get bread where ingredients are listed. I've neve encountered a supermarket sliced loaf that isn't vegan.

Lots of biscuits are vegan. Labels will often state something like "may contain milk" (or some other non-vegan substance). This means the food's been poduced using equipment also used for non-vegan items, but it'll be cleaned between different production runs, so most (admittedly not all) vegans find this OK.

Example for biscuits (usually applies to main brands plus supemarket own brand equivalents:)

Ginger Nuts
Chocolate Bourbons
Hobnobs incl Chocolate Chip hobnobs
Rich Tea
Fruit Shortcake

None of them will say "vegan", they're "accidentally vegan" i.e. just happen to be, though not particularly aimed at that market.

Biscuits that aren't vegan:

Custard Creams
Chocolate Digestives (even the plain choc ones - milk is used in the chocolate)

Many tinned and packet soups are vegan, though I suppose many will also contain tomato. Lentil would probably be OK.

The amount of disrespect shown here for people who through no fault of their own have been driven to need to use a food bank appalls me.

Sanctions, where a person's JSA is stopped, are increasing and JSA staff have targets to reach of numbers of people sanctioned. Here are a few examples of the ludicrous reasons that people have had their money stopped:

You’re a 60-year-old army veteran who volunteers to sell poppies for the Royal British Legion in memory of fallen comrades. You’ve applied for dozens of jobs – including the supermarket where you sold the poppies – but without success. You are sanctioned for four weeks.

Source: Daily Mirror

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Your gran dies during the night. The next morning your partner calls the job centre and asks if you can come in the following day instead. The centre agrees, and you sign in the next day. Then you get a letter stating that you failed to sign in and would be sanctioned if you don’t reply within seven days. You reply, explaining the situation. The job centre gives you a six-week sanction for not replying.

Source: Mari-claire M at Netmums

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You get a job interview. It’s at the same time as your job centre appointment, so you reschedule the job centre. You attend your rearranged appointment and then get a letter saying your benefits will be stopped because going to a job interview isn’t a good enough reason to miss an appointment.

Source: Daily Mail

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You’ve signed in on time, been to interviews and applied for work. Your job centre advisor suggests you make a two-line change to your CV, which you do, but fail to give the updated CV to the job centre (you weren’t told you had to). You are sanctioned for four weeks.

Source: nciaw36 at MoneySavingExpert

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You work for 20 years and then miss a job centre appointment because you haven’t had the process clearly explained. You are sanctioned for 3 weeks.

Source: Councillor John O’Shea

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You get a job that starts in two weeks time. You don’t look for work while you are waiting for the job to start. You’re sanctioned.

Source: The Guardian

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You are forced to retire due to a heart condition, and you claim Employment and Support Allowance. During your assessment you have a heart attack. You are sanctioned for not completing your assessment.

Source: Debbie Abrahams MP

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It’s Christmas Day and you don’t fill in your job search evidence form to show that you’ve looked for all the new jobs that are advertised on Christmas Day. You are sanctioned. Merry Christmas.

Source: Poverty Alliance

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So, are posters here saying that people who are in need of food banks are not allowed to have principles? What sort of society do we live in that hungry people are looked down on?

A friend of mine who is vegan from principle but also very allergic to milk and has coeliac disease (as well as a lot of other severe and painful chronic conditions) needed to use a food bank for her daughter and herself when her daughter when her daughter who has schizophrenia turned 18 and needed to make an adult claim. It did not go well. I don't remember the ins and outs of it but my severely ill friend was having to go to and from MH services, DWP offices whilst dealing with her daughter who was particularly unwell at the time. Also having to use a food bank for a while.

Are you people saying that in all her troubles she should not have been able to stick to her principles?

After hearing of her experiences, I now always put dairy alternatives in the food bank collections and some GF products.

OP, thank you for what you are doing in your food bank and your concern for this client. As others have said, tins of pulses and baked beans are good, many biscuits are 'accidentally vegan' and I'm sure your client could tell you which of the ones you have in stock would be suitable. Bread is mostly OK but some people avoid L-Cysteine which can come from feathers but in food is mainly sourced from human hair. The various varieties of heinz beans, the tagine and BBQ ones for example are good. Some instant flavoured couscouses are OK but check for whey or milk.

"Food banks aren’t part of the welfare state – they are an indication that our welfare state is failing" (Mhairi Black)